"Monk" theme songs

Cafe Society
1

Pretty straightforward questions:

  1. Which “Monk” theme song do you enjoy listening to more

Jeff Beal
or
Randy Newman’s “It’s a Jungle Out There”

  1. Which version do you think is a better tv theme song and more importantly why?
2

  1. Personally, I prefer the original theme song, Jeff Beal’s jazzy guitar thing.

  2. They are both perfectly fine as TV theme songs, but in historical terms, Randy Newman’s would seem to fit better in that mold. It’s not quite the on-the-nose exposition of the themes to old sitcoms like Gilligan’s Island or The Beverly Hillbillies, but it’s descriptive, and while Monk is definitely not a sitcom, there’s a strong element of humor.
    .

3

Interestingly, Monk is the only TV show to win the Emmy for Main Title Theme Music twice, for both Beal’s and Newman’s versions.

4

Original flavor for me. We even have it in iTunes.

In this one instance I agree with Marcie Maven: If you ever get a show, don’t change the theme song.

5

I used to prefer the first one, but I can’t even remember what it sounds like now. The second one is the one I associate with it in my head, so I’ll have to go with that one.

6

I actually like the second one better. But I also like Natalie better than Sharona. Maybe I should post that under the “unpopular opinions” thread.

7

I like Randy Newman’s better. It applies to the actual show, whereas Beal’s could be the theme song for just about any other show.

8

I’ll join you in the Natalie preference (but on the themes, I like them both more or less equally.)